I did not know what service-learning was until I read the articles assigned for class. The articles along with going to the Harpers Ferry Job Corps orientation really showed me what it was all about. The reading and the class presentation have challenged my first thoughts by giving me a better understanding of what service learning is. Service-learning goes a couple of miles further than community service. Service-learning allows students to help the community, as well as learn about something. For example, my Education class is going to be tutoring students at Job Corps. Our class is providing the Harpers Ferry community a free service of tutoring to those who need it while hopefully my peers and I will gain a solid understanding of what it would be like to teach one-on-one. Service-learning has three main components: community service, instruction, and reflection. Those components work well together and make service-learning seem like the perfect answer to helping education grow into a more progressive way. However, students need to have a high responsibility, they have to take the initiative, as well as make choices. If students do not do that, the success of service-learning will be lacking.
The value of tutoring through Job Corps will be a crucial step in my education career. I think this experience it like stepping-stones that will help me obain a stronger grasp of what being a teacher will be like. I believe that this experience will make or break
It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).
Service Learning is an educational strategy set in place to enlighten students with instruction and experience, in addition to improve learning , teach responsibility, and support the community. Service learning is vital to the development of the student, given that it intertwines academic and personal development together. It is aimed to enhance a student’s learning in all aspects of life.
The benefit of service learning for the student and community is again a better inform civic minded individual who may use his experience from service learning as a launching pad for career opportunities to better serve within that community. In an article published in the College Student Journal its author noted that with service learning “students gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility" (Strange,
Service Learning is learning through experience to gain sociological observation, concepts, and theories so I decide to do my service learning hours in one of the two high schools that is part of the Oceanside Unified School District. The name of the school is called El Camino High School. El Camino High School is a high school that is located at 400 Rancho Del Oro Drive in Oceanside, California. It has over 3,000 students currently attending. The school’s mascot is the “Wildcat” and their colors are gold and red. El Camino High School is a public school that is part of a system of free public education that is maintained at a public expense for the education of students who are part of that community or district. El Camino High School is a place is a public school where students are coming out of middle school and are
Community service is intended to help others at any given reason, service learning is intentional and is meant to have educational structure and purpose behind it. Community service takes a less structured place to volunteer and can be focused anywhere. Service learning is a little more tedious and has a stronger focus on working with and learning about the targeted focal group of the intended group or community. According to the article of “The effectiveness of service learning: It’s not always what you think” “Service-learning is also a teaching strategy that offers students opportunities to learn both in the classroom and in the wider
To begin, I believe that Service-Learning helps one develop and hone their leadership skills. This world does and will always need leaders, and the young generation is next in line as the head of our society. These people need to be prepared to grab the baton from the previous generation and help fix and prevent many of the problems that previous generations have produced. If planned and executed properly, Service-Learning can
“Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities” (Learn and Serve America National Service-Learning Clearinghouse). This assignment gave students the opportunity to go outside of their comfort zone, which is typically the classroom and see what the “real world” is like. As Gandhi would say “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” (Gandhi). I believe that this project really allowed us to appreciate what we have because many people are not as fortunate. During this service learning project I had certain expectations going into the project, but in the end, my results were not exactly as I expected.
In Service-Learning in Higher Education is a short video that gets straight to the point talking about what is service learning. Service learning incorporates a volunteer component with a learning experience that requires you to set goals, to make preparations, and reflection of things you experience. This is similar to our module were suppose to learn the purpose of service and role of citizens working in a community. Service learning will help me to have a deeper understanding of things and have an entire different perspective.
I believe the general purpose of service learning is to give back, to provide to others while being the change you want to see in others. It is also a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience. Sometimes service learning isn’t always about doing things you like or that interests you but it’s about giving back to the community in a meaningful way. Those who participate in service learning are definitely over achievers because service learning has to come from the heart.
A study done by the National Training Laboratory Institute (1999) found that “on average, students retain five percent of what they hear, ten percent of what they read, thirty percent of what they see during demonstrations, and seventy-five percent of what they practice doing” (para. 2). Service-learning remains a program that integrates community service, reflection, and practice to improve the students learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen community and school relations. This learning strategy aids students in learning numerous skills, traits, and lessons that classroom instruction alone cannot teach. It makes learning relevant and enjoyable for the students by taking them out in the community and letting
The purpose of service learning is to teach new skills and information. It is also meant to teach responsibility and strengthen the communities. (Office of Civic Engagement & Service Learning, 2015) Service learning is a form of community service and is meant to enrich people’s lives. It helps them to have a better understanding about things going on in this world.
According to Kathleen Flecky and Lynn Gitlow, service-learning is defined as, “learning that occurs in experiences, reflection, and civic engagement” (Flecky & Gitlow, 2011). In recent years more universities are implementing service learning into their curriculum. A key concept of service learning is civic responsibility. Civic responsibility can simply be defined as your responsibilities as a citizen. As will be shown later in this paper, service learning can have many benefits not only to a student, but also to the community members
The Society for Experiential Education defines service learning as, “any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience” (Staton 1). Service learning is a great opportunity to get extra learning experiences while also experiencing the community around the universities campus. “Service learning allows students to apply what they are learning from their instructors, peers, and readings to genuine tasks that occur outside the four walls of the classroom while simultaneously helping others” (Staton 1). Universities are using service learning to expand beyond the classroom and provide students with experiences that will
The term ‘‘service-learning’’ means a method (A) under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that (i) is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; (ii) is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community; and (iii) helps foster civic responsibility; and (B) that (i) is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the educational components of the community service program in which the
I felt there was a great deal of value in learning what “community service learning” meant. It taught me the many benefits of not only learning at school, but from fellow classmates, and the community that I served. Values such as humbleness, gratefulness, honesty, sincerity, mercy and